"I think a lot of Democrats are frustrated and feel powerless, and so that rhetoric has this cathartic effect,"
"But I don't know that it actually, over time, moves us toward success, and I mean not just success in society, but even political success, because ultimately, if you're not offering solutions, I think you can have a hard time getting to a majority position."
"We have become so caught up in our own rhetoric of helping the little guy that we've stopped actually checking to make sure that we are doing that,"
Matt Mahan is the 42-year-old San José mayor who identifies as a Democrat and grew up in working-class Watsonville. Mahan criticizes one-party rule in Sacramento as a club of insiders that take care of each other and resist accountability. Mahan emphasizes measurable results over intentions or performative rhetoric, calling some high-profile posturing a "sugar high" and warning that cathartic rhetoric alone does not produce durable social or political success. Mahan argues that offering concrete solutions is essential to build majority support and that personal experience informs his outsider stance and focus on effectiveness.
Read at The Mercury News
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